D303 Student’s Wheelchair Flipped, Bus Driver Kept Going: Lawsuit

ST. CHARLES, IL — A St. Charles family is suing District 303, alleging their son was seriously injured last August because a bus driver failed to properly secure his wheelchair.

Corban Pearson, a special-needs student at Wredling Middle School, suffered a slew of injuries — including multiple broken bones, brain injuries and respiratory failure — when his wheelchair flipped on top of him Aug. 14, 2019, shortly after getting onto the bus following school, according to a lawsuit recently filed in Kane County court.

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The lawsuit alleges bus driver Antoinette Green and aide Pam Karnick spent several minutes that afternoon trying to secure Pearson’s chair to the bus before Green gave up and said "shoot … I've got a lot of kids this afternoon … I'll just be careful going around corners."

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The bus, which was equipped with audio and video-recording equipment, had four children on it at the time, the suit claims.

The lawsuit alleges Green “carelessly” drove the bus by braking abruptly to avoid missing a turn, which caused Corban’s wheelchair to flip forward on top of him. Green stopped the bus almost a minute later but neither she nor Karnick lifted the wheelchair off him, according to the suit.

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Green dropped off another student and continued driving until Corban’s wheelchair tipped further forward and he asked for help, the lawsuit alleges. Paramedics reached Corban almost 20 minutes after his wheelchair first fell on him, and he was still pinned between the wheelchair and the side wall of the bus, according to the suit.

Lawyers for Corban’s parents Christin and Lisa Pearson claim Green and Karnick “were unwilling to give information to first responders or help in any way as to what happened.” First responders were also delayed in giving Corban medical treatment because District 303 did not provide Green with any emergency-contact information for the students on her bus, the suit alleges.

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Corban spent almost two months in the hospital after the incident, according to a report by the Daily Herald.

Carol Smith, District 303’s director of communications and community relations, said Tuesday she was “unable to comment on any pending litigation at this time.”

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